The greensmower of the future - now

A superintendent who’s not in the know might see the Precise Path RG3 greensmower on a course and think Armageddon has arrived. He can be reassured, however, it’s a robotic mower just doing the job it was programmed to do.

The day has come when an automated greensmower has arrived in the golf industry. It needs to be wheeled out to the golf green, but after that, it operates on its own, cutting around the precise shape of a green.

Judging from attendees at the Golf Industry Show, it’s difficult to tell by looking at an RG3 mower at rest that it can cut greens on its own. But at second glance, it starts to stick out. Its rounded “hat” is unlike anything a user-operated mower has. Also, it doesn’t have as many operator controls as other mowers.

Forward progress

Once the RG3 is wheeled to a green, an on/off switch is all that’s needed. The robotic mower feels its way around the green using a local positioning system, which involves placing four beacons around the green (and setting up the green’s coordinates with the mower ahead of time) so the mower knows exactly where to go.

“Before I saw this mower, I would have said, ‘you’re crazy,’” says Troy Coker, superintendent at Plum Creek Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.

Coker has been testing the electric-powered mowers on his course, and as the mowers go through changes based on user recommendations, Coker has decided to join the bandwagon. Besides, it’s not such a stretch that golf course superintendents would move toward using the technology.

“If you think about it, 20 to 25 years ago, no one thought they would run their irrigation system from their desk either,” he says.

Despite the industry’s forward progress, the thought of leaving an automated mower unattended on the most scrutinized part of the golf course is enough to make any superintendent queasy. But the manufacturer reassures potential users there’s nothing to worry about. For instance, the mower can pick out even small obstacles on a green that it could interfere with.

“If an object is left on the green the operator doesn’t catch, the laser detection system is designed to protect the mower and green from being damaged,” says Brian Wheat, vice president of sales and marketing for Precise Path Robotics, an Indianapolis-based company known in its home state as the creator of Indiana’s Robotic Vehicle, a self-driving vehicle.

Besides, it uses a Toro 11-blade cutting reel – not some new, unknown cutting equipment, Wheat adds.

“We’re not interested, nor were we ever interested, in building our own cutting unit,” he says. “There’s more than 100 years of experience out there in that.”

Instead, the company is sticking to its core competency of robotics and has commissioned the experience of agronomic professionals to make sure the machine mows as precisely as possible, he says.

The mower can cut more precise than if it had an operator, Coker says.

“The mowing patterns will be exact every day,” he says. “It takes a lot of the human error issue out of it.”

Heeding a need

The company wanted to focus its efforts on technology for the outdoors and saw a need in the industry for a robotic machine, Wheat says.

“It became clear that more than any other industry, the golf industry was in dire need of robotics,” he says.

An operator only needs to be present to transport the mower from one green to the next and flip the switch. Once it’s been programmed, the mower can detect which green it’s on.

Because of their hands-free operation, robotic mowers replace some of the course’s living, breathing labor force and the associated cost, Wheat says, adding it justifies the mower’s $30,000 price tag. Superintendents he’s talked to say they can see a return on their investment after about two years. The mower is designed to last 5 to 7 years.

The beta version is being tested on golf courses this year, and Wheat expects delivery of the first 50 units to occur in the third quarter of 2009. He’s confident the mower will catch on with superintendents, even if it’s slowly at first.

“We’re committed to the golf course industry for the long haul,” he says. “We understand the industry’s not going to adopt the technology overnight. It’s our burden to prove this is viable, and we’ll be patient. No one doubted robotics will be critical – it’s just a matter of when and how.”